


Sweet as Cherry Wine

by CharlieCharlie616



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Everyone Is Alive, Fluff, IronStrange, M/M, Slow Dancing, Song Lyrics, We don't talk about Endgame, basically just fluff, everything is fine, tony stark deserves love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 11:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19172548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlieCharlie616/pseuds/CharlieCharlie616
Summary: Love stories are overrated and dumb, unless Stephen Strange is a part of them.(Aka: Tony is a tired boi and Stephen is helpful and sweet)





	Sweet as Cherry Wine

Tony Stark had never been one for love stories. They were sickly sweet, slow and soft in all the right ways. They were perfect, too perfect. It simply wasn't what real love was like. 

To Tony, real love hurt. It stung in your chest, squeezing and strangling your heart. It was flowers growing in your lungs, choking you and killing you in the prettiest, most soft way. It caught your breath when your breath didn't want to be caught, tangling warm hope with a cold, inevitable end. It just wasn't worth it. 

Or so Tony had thought. 

He had had second guesses in his opinions on love before, but none so strong as the ones that came with Stephen Strange. Strange and his cold, mysterious blue eyes, his tall and refined figure. The perfectly shaped goatee and soft, well-cared for raven black hair streaked with grey. Not to mention his sharp and witty personality, Strange was one of the only people would could keep pace with Tony. 

Tony could snap out one of his witty remarks, and Stephen would meet it with one even sharper. The two could go on for hours, not just in banter, but just talking. God, it had been too long since Tony could so easily talk to someone. As much as it scared Tony to admit, Stephen felt like... home. 

\--------------------------------------------------  
It had started off a quiet Sunday night at the Avengers compound, and Tony was left alone in the living room after movie night. Scrolling aimlessly through his holo-tablet, Tony wondered if he should call it a night. He checked the clock. 11:47. Nope, he decided, clicking on a blue print to work on. Tony made his way down to his lab as quietly as he could, trying not to wake the others. 

Some time has passed, Tony wasn't sure how much, and the mechanic sat holding a peice of a new prototype, this one specifically designed for space travel. After Thanos, Tony had learned his lesson. Better safe than sorry. 

The mechanic was busy saughtering several tiny wires together, and was completely unaware of the automatic door to his lab gently sliding open.

"Late night, huh Stark?"

Tony nearly jumped out of his skin, chucking his tools across the worktable. They landed with a startling clang. 

Oh, but that wasn't the only thing that had Tony's heart racing a million miles per second. 

"Jesus H. Christ Strange, you almost killed me!" Tony dramatically clutched his chest. 

Stephen offered a tiny smile, crossing his arms as he leaned in the door frame. "Sorry. I must say, you sort of had it coming though."

"And why, exactly, did I have it coming?" Tony asked, spinning around in his swivel chair to face Stephen. 

"No one should be up this late. It's prime time for being startled."

"Wouldn't you know, you witch."

Stephen huffed at that. "I'm a master of the-"

"Yeah yeah, we get it Gandalf, you're fancy," Tony quipped, interrupting Stephen. The wizard gave Tony a glare.

"You're distracting me, Stark." 

"Aw, come on, you know you love it," Tony chided with a playful smile, rolling back in his swivel chair. 

"It _is_ slightly enduring, I suppose," Stephe conceded, offereing another soft smile. "But you're still distracting me. Why are you awake at-" Stephen raised a hand to check his watch,"-3:13 in the morning?"

"You know, the better question is why are _you_ awake a-"

"Tony." Stephen fixed Tony with a hard stare, tilting his head down slightly as if looking over a pair on imaginary glasses. 

_That_ made Tony stop. 

Curse Stephen Strange and that deep, velvety voice of his. 

"...I couldn't sleep," Tony admitted quietly. It wasn't a lie, he really couldn't sleep. But neither had he actually tried. 

"So in your sleep-deprived, caffine-high state, you decide to come down here and play with advanced mechanical equipment and fire."

Tony shrugged. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Stephen sighed, padding into the lab to lean against Tony's worktable, crossing his arms and giving Tony a dissapointed look. Tony almost felt guilty. Almost. 

As Tony looked up at Stephen, he realized that this was the first time he had seen the wizard in his night clothes. They were surprisingly normal for someone who dressed the way Stephen did, a soft-looking grey t-shirt and blue pajama bottoms patterned with tiny galaxies and planets. It would have been cute, if not for the awfully sexy way Stephen glared down at Tony. 

"You know," Stephen began, his gaze softening a little. "I used to have the same problem. Sleep rarely came easily, and when it did, it was filled with nightmares." 

Tony was taken aback not only by how familiar that situation was, but also how open Stephen was being. Tony wanted to say something about it, but held it back. Good judgement, is that you?

"I tried everything," the wizard continued. "Teas, herbs, medication, weighted blankets, recommended room tenpratures, meditaion. I even once tried to use magic to put myself to sleep, to rid myself of the nightmares. None of it worked." He stood up, begining to pace slowly around the lab. 

"...So what did?" Tony asked tentativly. No matter how open Stephen was being, he didn't want to strike an uncomfortable chord. 

Stephen ceased his pacing, instead making his way back over to Tony. He held out an open hand. "Can I show you?" Stephen's voice was soft, almost uncertain.

With his heart nearly beating out of his throat, Tony accepted Stephen's hand. 

The wizard carefully pulled Tony to his feet with one hand, dimming the lights with a wave of his other. Stephen fluttered his shaking fingertips, and music began to play softly through the speakers of Tony's lab. Tony didn't recognize the gentle acoustic guitar, and couldn't put much thought into it as Stephen placed one hand on Tony's waist, the other still holding the mechanic's hand. 

The two swayed slowly in time, and Tony was beyond star-struck. He was slow dancing. With Stephen Strange. The wizard he had been pining after for months. He was somehow even more beautiful in the low light. This... this couldn't be real. 

Stephen closed his eyes, leaning his head towards Tony's as he mouthed along to the words to the song. 

_Eyes and words are so icy, oh but she burns, like rum on a fire._

Tony's heart finally began to slow as he leaned into Stephen, letting the wizard guide him. 

_Hot and fast and angry as she can be, I walk my days on a wire._

Stephen opened his eyes slowly, looking into Tony's. It felt like the wizard was seeing straight into the mechanic's soul. Stephen's eyes quietly asked if this was okay, and Tony responded by leaning closer to Stephen. Thier chests were nearly pressed together. 

_It looks ugly, but it's clean, Oh mama, don't fuss over me._

Closing his eyes, Tony let the feel of Stephen be all that there was. 

_The way she tells me I'm hers, and she's mine, open hand or closed fist would be fine. Blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine._

Stephen sighed, content. He gently pressed his forehead against Tony's.

_Calls of guilty thrown at me all while she stains the sheet of some other. Thrown at me so powerfully, just like she throws with the arm of her brother._

Tony took a chance and gave into the tiredness weighing him down as he leaned his head forward to rest on Stephen's shoulder. He breathed in the wizard. He smelled like old books and green tea. 

_But I want it, it's a crime that she's not around most of the time._

Stephen moved his other hand from Tony's and let it rest on the mechanic's waist. In turn, Tony linked his arms around the back of Stephen's neck. He could hear the wizard whispering along to the music. Tony began to wonder if there was a reason Stephen picked his song. 

_The way she shows me I'm hers and she's mine. Open hand or closed fist would be fine, blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine._

Tony felt at home. More comfortable than he had felt in years, Tony could have fallen asleep right then and there. 

_His fight and fury is fiery, oh but he loves like sleep to the freezing._

Wait. He?

_Sweet and right and merciful, I'm all but washed in the tide of his breathing._

Heart fluttering, Tony realized that it was Stephen singing along. And he was changing all the 'her's to 'him's. 

_And it's worth it, it's divine, I have this some of the time._

Tony shivered as Stephen whisper-sang 'divine' right in his ear. He could feel the wizard's facial hair scratch lightly against his jaw. 

_The way he shows me I'm his and he's mine, open hand or closed fist would be fine._

Snuggling closer yet to Stephen, Tony felt sleep still threatening to close his eyes. 

_"Blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine,"_ Tony sang sleepily along with Stephen. He could hear the smile in the wizard's voice. 

The song played it's last chords, and Tony barely registered that Stephen had opened a portal behind them. As though he were handling something made of glass, Stephen swept Tony up into his arms, carrying the mechanic bridal-style through the portal and to Tony's room. 

"Mmm... why'd the music stop?" Tony asked quietly, his voice slightly slurred from tiredness. 

"The song's over, Anthony," Stephen explained gently. "It's more than past your bedtime."

Tony would have fought against Stephen more if he wasn't so... so tired. By the time Tony realized he was in bed, Stephen had already pulled the covers over him. 

"Sleep well," Stephen said gently, oddly still fingertips trailing over the covers. 

But Tony was already fast asleep. 

Smiling, Stephen left, but not before pressing a soft kiss to Tony's cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, lovelies! My name is Charlie, and I'm borderline obsessed with Marvel right now lmao. This is my first fic here, I'm sorry if there's issues with the formatting or anything. I'm open to critique or suggestions, so let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!  
> (P.S; The song I used lyrics from is Cherry Wine by Hozier)


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